Degradation of anionic dye using Fe/Tio2 composite by photocatalysis

Abstract

Dyeing industry discharges large amount of colored wastewater into water bodies without proper treatment. There are various methods to treat wastewater, but recently Photocatalytic treatment has been proven effective. So an effective Iron/Titanium Dioxide (Fe/TiO2) photocatalytic composite has been synthesized by sol-gel method. The synthesized Fe/TiO2 composite was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDAX). The photocatalytic degradation study of Fe/TiO2 composite under UV light was studied using the aqueous solution of anionic dye Congo Red. The effect of various parameters such as catalyst loading, pH and initial concentration of the dye on degradation has been investigated. The maximum degradation of Congo Red dye concentration in aqueous medium was obtained at pH=5 and 200 mg/l of Fe/TiO2 composite for 10 mg/l concentration of Congo Red dye. Finally, the results prove that photodegradation of Congo Red dye in aqueous solution using composite was very effective under UV irradiation.